Developer Diaries

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Developer Diary #1

We often get asked what is the best weapon and the simple answer is, there is no "best weapon" in Ghost Recon. All of the weapons, just like in real life, have advantages and disadvantages. The key is to find the weapon that suits your play style and your mission objectives. In GRAW we have also taken this a step further by including gun rides across Mexico City. Here you will have a series of objectives to clear enemy targets off roof tops and fend off attacking helicopters before you land. We designed the gun rides to let players experience the M134 minigun which is mounted on your Black Hawk, this just rips through everything and really gives the sensation that they are flying across Mexico City.

Other than that you also have control of tanks and Apache helicopters in your CROSS-COM which give you added firepower when you come up against heavy resistance. So for the first time you can call in an air strike from your Apache, and fire his missiles on the target and see it all in real time in the CROSS-COM window as well as being in the heat of the action on the battlefield.

Animations

The power of the Xbox 360 doesn't only allow us more detail on models, and weapons but it also gives us the opportunity to use over 1,500 different animations for character movements, which is about double of what is feasible on current-gen FPS games. This means the player can experience many new movements such as the dive, slide and cover positions in a very realistic and fluid manner.

For this we use a series of motion capture sessions, with stunt men and military experts to capture the precise movements and stances of tomorrow's soldier. All these add to the immersion of the player as the Over The Shoulder (OTS) view allows the player to see the character he is embodying close up and every movement he makes. The other thing that some players may pick up on is their team's movements; the additional use of animations also allows the player to see his team come to life more. You now see your Ghost team take cover positions, reload, move into the prone position, react to near impacts and so on, this again adds to the visual realism we are creating for the player.

So there you have it the first development diary, we hope you enjoy the game.